Promoting your experience

Looking for creative ways to share your experience with the world? It’s likely you already have an audience that will be excited to support you. Read on for tips on how your existing network: your friends, family, and community can help your experience pick up momentum.

Start with your friends and family

“When we first launched, we asked our friends to book our experience…This allowed us to get their honest feedback, highlighting the needs to adjust the times we were offering to avoid the midday heat, start offering snacks, sun protection, and that the highest demand was on the weekends.”Jessie and Thomas, hosts of The Hollywood Sign Hike in Los Angeles

Your friends and family already know about your passions and talents, so sharing your experience with these people is a perfect first step. Consider reaching out to tell them about your experience, why you are excited about it, and all the details they need to share it with their own networks. If you feel nervous about reaching out, imagine a friend was launching their own experience, how might you feel about supporting them?

Here’s a sample email you can use as a template to start from:

Hi, [Name].

I’m excited to let you know about a project I’m working on and invite you to be a part of it. I’ve turned my passion for [blank] and [summarize your background, expertise, or special access] into [title of your experience], which I’m listing as an experience on Airbnb.

I’ll have a chance to share my love for [blank] with guests from around the world and enable them to experience a unique part of [your city].

I would love to invite you to participate in one of my experiences on [dates/times]. I’m reaching out to give my close friends and family a special sneak preview of the experience and of course, would love to see you and get your feedback.

You can sign up here [link to your experience].

Please also share this with anyone in your network who might be interested and don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for joining me on this new adventure, I look forward to hosting you on [title of your experience] soon.

Share your experience on your social media channels

You can use social media channels you already use, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or your personal blog to share your experience. Incorporate eye-catching imagery to make your post stand out, as well as a direct link to sign up for your experience. Using relevant hashtags in your posts can help you reach a wider audience. For example, for a hike in Los Angeles, you could use #LosAngeles #hike and #airbnbexperiences. For more social media advice check out our social media tips.

I seem to have the most interaction in Instagram and it’s also my favorite place to post since I love looking at everyone’s beautiful photos! I manage to post on my accounts five times a week. By posting consistently, my accounts look active and I can stay top of mind for people who follow my account.—Alexandra, Host of Hike to the top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco

Spread the word to your network

Beyond your immediate friends and family, think about groups in your broader network who might be interested in the experience you are offering. For example, Jesse and Thomas from The Hollywood Sign Hike were already part of a Facebook community for Australians living in Los Angeles. When they launched their experience, they posted about their new adventure in the group to help spread the word beyond their close circles.

It can be helpful to start brainstorming a list of groups you and your closest friends and family members are in. Consider alumni networks, community or neighborhood groups, parent groups, and so on. Once you start writing these groups down, you may find your network is more extensive than you thought!

Protip: Some hosts offer a special low price, for example, half of their regular price, to their immediate network by reducing the rate on just one of their experience’s dates. They then send an update to their network, highlighting this one-time-only unique date and price. If you try this, just remember, anyone can sign up for this experience at this low price!

Identify and connect with related community groups

Try joining online groups with people who have similar interests or passions. Don’t join them to promote your experience, but to genuinely connect with like-minded people. You’ll find once you’ve connected in this group, you’ll have a better insight into those who have similar interests, and may have built an online support system open to attending your experience and giving feedback, or sharing your experience outside the group.

Promoting your experience is a way to share your passion with your community, whether your friends and family or members of the Airbnb community from around the world. When you are promoting remember to keep your tone genuine, not too self-promotional, and:

Share your passion and excitement

Highlight your expertise

Include a clear request, or ‘call to action’, and link for people to sign up

While promotion might feel like a lot to take on, if you incorporate it into your hosting plan from the beginning it can help your experience gain momentum and establish your reputation as a great host.

Ready to start promoting your experience? Here are five steps you may want to consider taking:

Update your social media profiles to include details about your experience and a direct link.

Use the template above to draft an email to friends and family inviting them to sign up and spread the word about your experience.

Hold a ‘test run’ of your experience and invite a few close friends. Post photos on your social media accounts, and ask your friends to do the same!

Share your experience with a group you regularly participate in.

Identify, join, and participate in a new group who might be interested in your experience.

Have a tip to share with the community? Let us know and we may feature it in a future article, newsletter, or through our social media channels!